(01 April 2021) – In 2020, average hourly labour costs in the whole economy (excluding agriculture and public administration) were estimated to be €28.5 in the EU and €32.3 in the euro area.
The two main components of labour costs are wages & salaries and non-wage costs (e.g. employers’ social contributions).
The average hourly labour costs mask significant gaps between EU Member States, with the lowest costs recorded in Bulgaria (€6.5), Romania (€8.1) and Hungary (€9.9), and the highest in Denmark (€45.8), Luxembourg (€42.1) and Belgium (€41.1).
Within the euro area, hourly labour costs increased in all Member States except Malta (-4.7%), Cyprus and Ireland (-2.7% each). The largest increases were recorded in Portugal (+8.6%), Lithuania (+7.5%) and Slovakia (+7.0%), the smallest in Luxembourg (+0.5%), Finland (+0.7%) and the Netherlands (+0.8%).